James Robert Day, 42, of Glen Rock, was charged Wednesday for allegedly stealing more than $300,000 from his former Shrewsbury employer, Huber Welding Service, LLC, according to state police.

The company closed "as a result of Day's actions," according to the arrest affidavit filed against Day.

Through the course of the state police investigation, several former employees said Day threatened to fire them if they told the company owner about what Day was doing.

According to the arrest affidavit, Day was hired by the company in 2004 as a project estimator. When the company owner, Christine Kimball, went on maternity leave at the end of 2004, she left Day and another employee, the office manager, in charge of daily operations. Kimball told police that Day "felt he needed to have a title in order to command respect from the HWS employees," the affidavit states.

Kimball agreed to allow Day to call himself the general manager. She told police Day created "a division between her and the HWS employees by telling employees that Kimball had given him full power and authority to run the company." Day allegedly threatened to fire employees who defied his orders or attempted to contact Kimball, according to the arrest affidavit.

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In March 2008, after Huber Welding Service started to lose money, Kimball hired a business consultant, Tom Gantt, to assess the company's finances. Gantt found that Day was receiving a salary three times what a normal salary for a general manager at a similar company was receiving, according to the affidavit. Also, Day was receiving reimbursements and bonuses in his paychecks "that appeared to be questionable." Day's contracted salary in 2008 was $175,674.72, and his actual salary was $317,102.18, including the bonuses and reimbursements he awarded himself.

When Kimball contacted police in April 2009, she told police she wanted to terminate Day when she learned what he was awarding himself, but she "was fearful that Day would convince other HWS employees to follow him, which would have caused HWS to fold." She didn't immediately terminate Day.

In addition to the bonuses and reimbursements Day gave himself, Kimball told police that Day would scrap metal, including metal that had been allocated for upcoming projects, and keep the money, the arrest affidavit indicates. Day also made unauthorized purchases on several company credit cards, including more than $79,000 in unauthorized purchases on the company Amex card, and more than $20,000 in charges on credit cards for home improvement stores. The unauthorized purchases were for items such as a $2,000 vacuum, auto detailing services, auto parts, restaurant bills, firearm supplies and home Internet, Kimball told police.

Kimball also found evidence that Day was using the company-issued fuel card for personal purposes, and allowed his family members to use the card, according to the affidavit.

Investigators used search warrants to obtain bank records for several lines of credit Day opened. The investigation revealed that on several occasions, Day used the lines of credit to "loan" money to the company to make payroll and pay vendors, according to the arrest affidavit. Day then charged interest to the company that was higher than the interest rate on the original line of credit Day had obtained.

The investigation also found that Day had ordered company employees to fabricate items for Day's personal use, including a bed frame, a TV mounting bracket and weight equipment, according to the affidavit. The employees told investigators Day threatened to terminate them if they didn't comply with his orders.

In total, police found Day stole more than $317,000 from Huber Welding Service.

Day was charged with felony counts of corrupt organizations, forgery, theft, receiving stolen property, and other offenses. He was arraigned by District Judge Jeff S. Joy and released on $100,000 unsecured bail while he awaits his preliminary hearing. Day's preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. March 12.

State Police Lt. Frederick L. Hess said the investigation took years to complete given the complexity of the case and the paperwork that needed to be assessed.

"These investigations are long, drawn out, they're complicated because of the huge paper trail that needs to be followed, and the amount of people that need to be interviewed," Hess said.